Professor David Bisagaya Meya is an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University and hold an appointment as adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota. He has been involved in clinical research of central nervous system infections and complications, with a focus on HIV Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), an often deadly complication of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons living with AIDS with opportunistic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis and tuberculosis. I have led epidemiological and translational research studies as well as randomised clinical trials in Uganda in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Minnesota.
Prof Meya also has a specific interest in public health interventions to prevent meningitis at population level. He has advocated for cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) screening as a strategy to reduce deaths and hospitalisations from cryptococcal meningitis and TB meningitis. He is leading the efforts to initiate implementation of the national CrAg screening program in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Central public health laboratories and United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC). He chairs the Advanced HIV Disease Technical Working group at the Ministry of Health and lead the local collaborations between 2 Regional Referral Hospitals and the Infectious Diseases Institute.
He has been the Principal Investigator on National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) U01, and United Kingdom Medical Research Council (MRC) grants. He continues to be involved in advocacy to improve clinical care and outcomes in a predominantly HIV-infected patient population with limited resources for health focusing on advanced HIV disease.
Prof Meya enjoys mentoring young African scientists and currently lead an organisation, LIGHT-Africa, that brings together individuals in Africa working together to strengthen health systems and leadership in Africa.
